


Golden

by blackandorange



Series: Homeward [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Actually people are saying that this is so fucking angsty, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Basically Akaashi is so whipped, Bokuto left for college, Have a good read!, I don't feel it's angsty, I'm literally the worst at tagging, It's set a year later than the anime timeline, M/M, More fluff than angst???, No Smut, SO, Well this is so short so you are gonna find out, and Akaashi is now the captain, but he realized it too late, i guess, ok now you are fully warned, sorry about that, the summary is way better than the tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 18:01:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8255203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackandorange/pseuds/blackandorange
Summary: “Stop fighting this, Akaashi. Just...stop it. You don’t have to be fucking perfect all the time. Life doesn’t work that way. We mess up, we cry, we shout, and guess what? Sometimes we manage to make things bigger and better than anyone before us. That’s what we did. That’s what I’m gonna do with my new team and that’s what you are gonna do here.” After winning their first match as a revamped team, Akaashi realizes he doesn’t want to be the new Fukurodani captain anymore. In the downward spiral of his mental breakdown, everything is a mess. Until, suddenly, it isn’t.





	

**Author's Note:**

> After reading this, my lovely beta said: _"I think you need a warning at the beginning that this may kill people. It’s just too lovely."_ So, here you have it! :)

___ _

Little drops of water were lingering in the air, splitting the dim blue light of the locker room into dark fleeting rainbows. The familiar thick smell of freshly washed and sweaty bodies was permeating the room, carrying memories too painful to be acknowledged.

Akaashi dropped his head to the wall, closing his eyes and exhaling deeply. He was glad to finally be alone. The loud screams of his team were still echoing in his ears, a whirlwind of voices still too unfamiliar to him, carried along with happy eyes openly searching for his approval, for his support, for someone to be grateful to. They’d just won their first official match with the new squad, as they were expected to. After all, they were still the great Fukurodani, the defending champion, with or without him.

But still, Akaashi wasn’t happy. He’d won so many times before in that black, white and gold jersey, but now it felt completely different. He bet that was not how he, their former captain, used to feel after a victory. Akaashi smiled to himself. He remembered his loud laugh, the way he screamed “hey, hey, heeeey!”, his embraces, his proud stance and his confidence in being the best, always. And, in truth, he was. To him and to all their former team.

But now, nothing of the once-known Fukurodani was there. Just Akaashi, Onaga and a bunch of first year students. Well, actually way more than a bunch. The fame they were invested with after winning the Nationals brought an outrageous number of students asking to join the volleyball club, resulting in the biggest team in the history of Fukurodani. Akaashi clenched his shirt in his fist, crumpling the number 1 on it. He knew this day would come, but he still couldn’t believe he was actually the captain now.

In Akaashi’s eyes, everything was wrong. They were wrong. He was wrong. Since the captain left, nothing made sense anymore. Akaashi was feeling empty, numb, and most of all, inadequate. Sometimes, even stupid. Like when he saw the new uniforms and, without even thinking about it, he decided no one else could wear the number 4. Onaga gave him a long, knowing look, while the rest of the team was just confused. It was painful enough tossing to a spiker who wasn’t Bokuto, but having someone with his number on the court was just unbearable. No one could replace him, no one could even dare to do that. How ironic that the person who had to take his role was Akaashi himself. 

Akaashi pressed the heels of his hands on his eyes, harshly breathing out the frustration that was building inside his chest. He promised himself he wouldn’t cry, not anymore. He stood up abruptly, taking big steps to reach the sinks. He put his head under the freezing water, hoping it would help him step out from the dark spiral he found himself caught up in. It was like a bad dream he couldn’t wake up from. Even as hard as he tried, there was no escape, just more and more darkness. He wondered if that’s how Bokuto used to feel too, during his bad days.

When cold shivers started to run down his spine, Akaashi stopped the water and pressed the towel on his head, lazily rubbing his damp hair. As his eyes reached up to the mirror, he startled.

No. 

It was a dream. It had to be a dream. Even as vivid as it seemed.

“Looking fine even when you’re looking like shit, captain.” Bokuto said, leaning on the door jamb, looking at him with his head tilted to the side and his signature half smile spread on his lips. 

“What are you doing here?” Akaashi asked flatly, still staring at him through the reflection in the mirror, blinking a couple of times. So, he was real.  

“I came to see how my baby owls were doing in their first match without their mama.” Bokuto said, pushing himself up and taking a step forward towards him.

“We did good.” Akaashi said, finally turning around to face him, folding his arms across his chest, more for protecting and keeping himself together than for anything else.

“I saw. You won, but that didn’t come as a surprise.” Bokuto shrugged, walking towards the centre of the locker room. At the sight, Akaashi had to look away, dropping his gaze to the floor.

Bokuto was standing in the middle of the room, hands on his hips and nose in the air, slowly surveying it. “Ah! I missed this place.” He said, inhaling deeply with a smile. He didn’t seem melancholy; on the contrary, he was looking especially amused.   

“Wait, did you take my locker?” Bokuto asked, raising a confused eyebrow while pointing at the largest locker in the room. It was completely black with a replaceable tag that said in gold letters _Keiji Akaashi_ , while, not so long ago, it used to say _Kōtarō Bokuto_. Akaashi was still glad he didn’t have to make the change himself, finding the lockers already arranged that way the first day of practice.

“It’s not _your_ locker. It’s the captain’s locker.” Akaashi stated, his tone inadvertently a bit too harsh. He bit his tongue, wondering when he became so direspectful towards him. Seeing how much Bokuto’s absence changed him inside never failed to surprise Akaashi, every time in a worse way.

“Still.” Bokuto answered, not bothered at all by his attitude. He simply sat down on the bench, where he had sat so many times before, and took off his sweater with a smooth move. Under it, he was wearing a dark grey t-shirt that was clinging dangerously on his body, revealing his powerful chest and strong arms. Akaashi swallowed hard at the sight. Bokuto had always been like that, a total show-off when it came to his volleyball skills, but at the same time completely unaware of how physically attractive he was. And that, possibly, made him even more beautiful in Akaashi’s eyes. 

“How are things going here?” Bokuto asked, intertwining his fingers behind his messy mane of silver and black hair. His biceps popped in the process and Akaashi wondered if he really was that clueless. It felt like Bokuto was teasing him, even though he never did that before. Maybe Akaashi wasn’t the only one who changed, after all.

“We’re good.” Akaashi said, shifting uncomfortably against the side of the sink. The cold ceramic was digging painfully in his lower spine, but he couldn’t make himself move, away or towards him.

“Are you sure about that?” Bokuto narrowed his eyes, studying him with his intense golden gaze.

“I am.” Akaashi lied, even if he knew he couldn’t put up that charade for long, not in front of the only person who always read him like an open book and let himself be read as openly in return.

“Oh, come on Akaashi, what’s up with you and these one-word answers? And what is this face? You look like you just stepped out from the gates of hell!” Bokuto stood up abruptly and moved closer to him, this time clearly annoyed. 

“I’m fine.” Akaashi pushed himself away from the sink and walked past him, rummaging purposeless in his training bag, desperately searching for something to keep his hands occupied with. “How are you?” he asked, glancing back slightly over his shoulder. In truth, he didn’t even want to know, he was not ready to know how great his new life was, but he needed to keep Bokuto busy with a different topic than Akaashi’s own misery.

“Spectacular.” Bokuto said, sitting down on the bench again, fully turning his body in Akaashi’s direction. “Have you ever heard about the Aoba Johsai?” he asked somehow cautiously, after a long pause in which he never tore his gaze away from Akaashi’s back. 

“Yes, they’ve cut out Karasuno at the Interhigh-Preliminaries last year. I heard that during the summer training camp.” Akaashi said, carefully folding his clothes. In truth, Karasuno’s loss to Aoba Johsai was one of the main topics of the training week. He heard about it from so many points of view that it felt like he actually saw it live. It was a match that changed Karasuno to the core, a near death by a thousand cuts, each one cauterized with the knife of pride, hunger and relentlessness. They rose again after that, stronger, but with scars that ran deep inside of all of them. And the most alarming thing was that they weren’t even aware of the side effect it had on them.

“Yes, them. Can you believe I’m playing with their former captain?” From the way he asked, Bokuto himself still seemed surprised by the coincidence.

Akaashi’s jaw clenched at the news. Oikawa. Perfect. The setter and former captain was the second most talked about topic of the camp when it came to Aoba Johsai. They all seemed obsessed with him in different ways. Some for his exceptional volleyball skills, others for the magisterial way he managed his team, but there was one thing everyone seemed to agree on: his outstanding beauty. “ _He’s probably the most beautiful guy I’ve ever seen. I think you are the only one who can compete with him on that_.” Sugawara’s words flashed in his mind. At the time, the comment meant nothing to Akaashi, but now...

“How is he? I heard is a wonderful setter but also kind of a jerk.” Akaashi couldn’t help but give in to his curiosity. 

“He is _the biggest_ jerk.” Bokuto agreed. “Especially since his boyfriend and former ace went to another college. He always whines about how much he misses his _Iwa-chan._ But I’m giving him the hardest of times, it’s my ultimate form of entertainment now.” He laughed, lifting his chin with pride.

“The Grand King and the Owl King, you make quite of a couple.” Akaashi grimaced.  His mind was working incredibly fast, running through all the possible scenarios of their interactions. Oikawa lost his spiker, while Bokuto lost his setter. It was a chemical reaction with an incredible number of dangerous outcomes. For the first time in his life, a jolt of jealousy mixed with fear ran through Akaashi’s nerves.

“He wishes.” Bokuo smirked, with a mischievous raise of his eyebrows.

Akaashi snorted a smile, feeling some of the tension that had built up in his shoulders surprisingly leave his body. Bokuto’s presence was radiating a familiar and comforting aura and his proximity was enough for Akaashi to finally relax. He didn’t realize how much he relied on Bokuto until he was gone. Despite often being considered the baby of the team instead of their older brother, he simply had to be there to lighten everyone’s mood, to support people, to make every problem a little less serious. He protected all of them, in so many different ways.

“They always ask me about you, you know...” Akaashi said, finally sitting down on the same bench as Bokuto, but at a safe distance.

“And what do you tell them?” Bokuto seemed somehow surprised by the revelation.

“That you’re a mess.” Akaashi stated with a half smile, resting his head against the wall.

“Well, I am.” Bokuto shrugged, nodding in agreement.

“Yes, you are.”  Akaashi raised one eyebrow, shaking his head. He looked up staring at the ceiling, feeling the snake of tension slither up his back again.

“Surprisingly, now you are too.” Bokuto gripped the side of the bench with both hands and leaned forward, studying him intensely. His voice was calm, carrying not even the ghost of judgment, just something that could remotely be concern.

“I told you, I’m fine. Since when do you worry about me?” Akaashi sighed, giving him a sidelong glance.

“What?” Bokuto furrowed his brows, seeming genuinely offended by the implication. “I’m always worried about you, that’s why I came here today...it was just to see how you were doing.”

Akaashi was taken aback by the comment. He knew Bokuto cared about him, more than anyone else in the whole team. Akaashi was his setter, his anchor to reality and the person he trusted the most, but since the day Bokuto left, all of that suddenly meant nothing to him.  Or maybe, he just convinced himself of that, in a desperate attempt to save his mind from the drowning feeling of abandonment. Akaashi always thought he was the strongest and the most balanced of the two, when, in truth, Bokuto was the source of his own strength and balance. Akaashi felt incredibly lame.

“Akaashi, please, talk to me. Let me help you for once. What’s wrong?” Bokuto pressed him, giving him a soft and encouraging look with his massive owl eyes.

“It’s…Honestly, I don’t know if this was the right choice.” Akaashi exhaled deeply, gesturing to his jersey. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to be a good captain to them.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Bokuto shook his head, scandalized. “You were exposed to the best captain ever, it’s impossible for you not to be great at it!” He pointed to himself, smiling widely.

If the comment was supposed to brush off all of Akaashi’s concerns, it didn’t have the desired effect. On the contrary, it only pushed the true source of all his problems back in front of his eyes, twisting his gut painfully.

Akaashi felt the need to run away but, without even realizing it at first, something cracked inside him and, all of a sudden, he just snapped. “That’s exactly the point. I’m not you, I’ll never be you! They don’t like me. You know what I see when I look into their eyes? Respect, sometimes even slight fear, but not love.” He was standing tall, practically barking in Bokuto’s face.

“How could they not love you? This is nonsense.” Bokuto didn’t let himself be intimidated by Akaashi’s sudden reaction, how could he, and just folded his arms across his chest, shaking his head with skepticism.

“They don’t. You know what they call me? _The Ice Prince_.” The Pandora’s Box was open and Akaashi was now in full raging mode. That nickname was just the cherry on top of his experience as a captain. He didn’t know what was the worst part of it, the ice or the prince. Maybe he could have handled being considered cold and aloof, it was not too far from the truth either way, but not king instead of prince? At first he thought it was just stupid, but as the time passed, it was making him feel even more inferior when compared to the glorious Owl King. It was a testament of how deeply different they were, as people and in the relationship their teams developed with them.

Bokuto seemed to consider the information for a moment and then just shrugged. “Well, that’s actually a pretty cool name.” He was smiling, genuinely smiling, and that pushed Akaashi on the verge even more.

“It’s not cool!” Akaashi opened his arms in exasperation. “That’s not what I want to be...it’s just…” He trailed off, searching for a last string of courage to finally tell him the truth, to admit the extent of his defeat. “Things have been so different since you left us. I feel like we’re not a real team anymore, we’re just a bunch of first years and two other people mourning the loss of their captain.”

“Akaashi, listen.” Bokuto’s smiled faded, replaced by a serious but yet trustful expression. “I know it’s not easy being left alone here with Onaga and all those new people, but things will eventually sort themselves out, you’ll find your sync as a team again. The Fukurodani greatness won’t die with me, it will find a different but still beautiful way to shine with you.” Bokuto’s tone was soft and resolved at the same time, and Akaashi knew he really meant what he said. “I saw them playing, they’re good.” Bokuto added, after realizing that Akaashi didn’t have an answer for what he just said.

“I know, they truly are, and that’s why I feel like I’ve failed them. Or, even worse, betrayed them.” Akaashi sat down again, resting his elbows on his knees, sinking his head down.  

“You were holding yourself back on the court, weren’t you?” Bokuto sighed, moving a little closer to him, ducking his head down to search for Akaashi’s face.  

Bingo.

Bokuto took Akaashi’s silence as a confirmation. “You put up with me for two years, you made me one of the best spikers in the nation. Why are you taking a step back with the new one? Why are you giving him perfect tosses but you look disappointed when he makes an ace?” Disbelief was filling Bokuto’s tone. It seemed like he was struggling to believe his own words.

If disappointment was really there too or it was just an illusion of his sorrow, Akaashi couldn’t tell. He slowly raised his head, fully meeting Bokuto’s eyes for the first time.

“Because he isn’t you.”

“Wha-” Bokuto was even more shocked, but as he tried to say something, Akaashi cut him off abruptly.

“You know what? I should have left the team when you all did. I don’t belong here anymore, I realized it just now.” Akaashi inhaled deeply, taking a moment to collect all the fuzzy thoughts that were crowding his mind. “When I became captain, I was full of high hopes. I wanted it and I was so excited to start everything again. I wanted to let everyone know that Fukurodani wasn’t over, I wanted to make you proud. But that was just a lie. As soon as I wore the #1 jersey, I knew something was off. I tried to brush it away at first, but as we kept practicing, I felt myself growing colder and more distant. I didn’t want to play with them anymore, but I was feeling so responsible and I couldn’t make myself leave and abandon them. They need a guide...but I don’t feel like I’m the right one. They need someone like -”

“They need someone like you, Akaashi.” Bokuto said, erasing the distance between them and cupping Akaashi’s face in his huge hand, turning his head to the side and forcing their gazes to lock again. “They don’t need me. Most of them don’t even know me.”

Akaashi had to collect all the strength he had left in his body to not lean into the touch. “But I do.” He said in a quivering whisper.

“Akaashi…” As Bokuto felt Akaashi’s face shifting away from his hand, he tightened his grip, making him stay exactly where he was. It never failed to surprise him how gentle but at the same time extremely strong Bokuto was able to be, especially when he was handling his body. When their eyes met again, a shiver ran down Akaashi’s spine.

“You...you are gonna be the best captain Fukurodani has ever had. You’re everything I’ve never been: calm, humble, witty, extremely observant and you always know what’s the best for the team.” Bokuto tried to convince him, carrying an incredible amount of faith in his words.

Akaashi tried to protest at that, but Bokuto’s hand and firm stare pinned him in place again. It was a lie. Bokuto was the best captain their team would ever have. He was one of the top spikers of the country, so full of life and endearing to watch that even opponents cheered when he was playing. He had that charisma that naturally lead people to follow and stay with him in his every foolish idea. His mood swings and reckless behaviour gave them a hard time more than once, that was true, but no one ever questioned his leadership. He was loved, and Akaashi couldn’t find a reason for that not to happen.

When Bokuto left for college, Akaashi felt like he was stood on the edge of a cliff, with a foot already dangling into the void. But he managed to save himself, who knows how, before slipping and hopelessly falling down. In that moment, when instead of running as far as he could he just sat down on the cliff and never stood up, Akaashi realized he was about to love him, in every shade and form that feeling could possibly come. But, at the same time, he was glad they weren’t given more time to spend together, otherwise he would have probably let himself not only fall, but crash to the ground too. That realization used to annoy Akaashi, but now just stung painfully inside his chest.

“Look at me.” Bokuto gently lifted Akaashi’s chin with a finger, concern openly painted on his face. “I don’t know what's happening inside that head of yours, but stop listening to that voice. I won’t let you go down this road, ever!”

“I…You don’t...” Words were lost on his tongue, as a knot started to twist painfully in his throat. He stood up and walked to the sink again, clinging to the sides so tightly his knuckles turned white.  

_Don’t cry Akaashi, don’t cry._

“You think I was the best captain? Fine. You know what your captain did? Before anything else, among anyone else he chose you. And if I could go back in time I’ll chose you a hundred of times.” Bokuto’s resolute voice erupted from behind his back. He was dangerously calm, but Akaashi knew that attitude couldn’t last long. “Don’t question my judgment, Akaashi. I know I seem clueless most of the time, but I know what I’m doing and I knew you were the best choice possible.”

Akaashi’s muscles were painfully taut, so much he started panting, desperate for the oxygen his lungs weren’t able to keep. His misery was turning into a strange kind of anger. He was angry at Bokuto, for his ability to read him so well and for speaking the truth he was never able to admit. He was angry at himself, for his weakness and the pathetic show he was throwing in front of his former captain.

As burning tears started to gather in his eyes, Akaashi sensed a movement behind him.

_Don’t get closer._

“Stop fighting this, Akaashi. Just...stop it. You don’t have to be fucking perfect all the time. Life doesn’t work that way. We mess up, we cry, we shout and guess what? Sometimes we manage to make things bigger and better than anyone before us. That’s what we did. That’s what I’m gonna do with my new team and that’s what you are gonna do here.” Bokuto’s voice was choked and, like broken glass, cut a thousand wounds inside him.

“Your new setter would be proud to hear that.” A humorless laugh escaped Akaashi’s mouth.

Bokuto took less than a fraction of a second to react. When Akaashi felt a strong grip around his wrist and a tug turning him around completely, he almost wished for a fist to hit his face, possibly breaking his nose, or leaving him with a missing tooth or two. He knew he pushed Bokuto to the edge with that comment, and now he was ready and more than willing to take the consequences of that foolish act. Maybe being beaten up would finally wake him up from the numbness he felt.

When nothing happened, Akaashi slightly opened his lids, which he'd instinctively squeezed shut. He opened his mouth to say something but what he saw in Bokuto’s eyes made his words vanish. He recognized inside them the spectacle that used to spread wide under the cliff he stood on the edge of so many times before: a blinding sea sparkling in the sunset like it was made of golden diamonds. The realization hit him like a spike through the heart.

It was like a siren’s call. Akaashi took a deep breath, and, this time, he let himself fall.

His body moved like it had a life of his own and, before he could even realize what he was doing, he desperately fisted Bokuto’s shirt, pulled him closer and crashed their mouths together. Bokuto froze and did nothing to reciprocate the kiss.

“Fuck. I’m sor-” Akaashi pulled away immediately, blinking and trying to make sense of what he just did, of the extent of how much he fucked everything up, but Bokuto looped an arm around his waist and pulled him close again.

The confusion that was twisting Akaashi’s expression instantly faded when he saw Bokuto smiling to him, with a smile he never saw on his face before. It was softer, more intimate. He slid a hand from Akaashi’s side to his face and rested his forehead against his. They stood like that, in complete silence, their quivering breaths the only sound filling the empty locker room. Akaashi placed a hand on Bokuto’s chest and felt his heart beating impossibly fast under his fingers.

Bokuto rubbed his thumb on Akaashi’s sharp cheekbone, and, with no sign of hesitation, he brushed their lips together. Once, twice, three times. What started out with slow and careful kisses, took no time to grow with an intensity that made Akaashi cling to him. He tasted like black cherry, a revelation that made Akaashi smile against his lips. Bokuto groaned softly in response and pulled him closer, rolling over to the wall and pressing their bodies together even more, still kissing. And Akaashi did more than just not stop him, he kissed him back, cautiously, like he was afraid he could break him in any moment, but yet passionately, because in all those kisses he was finally putting all the words he never realized he needed to tell him.

It wasn’t a helpless fall. Bokuto was teaching him to fly, again.

Akaashi felt some moistness running down his cheeks. As it reached his mouth, the taste was unmistakable. Tears.  

“Why are you crying?” He asked, pulling away slightly.

“I don’t know.” Bokuto exhaled with a confused laugh, shaking his head.

Akaashi placed his hands on both sides of Bokuto’s face, pulling him down and kissing all his tears away. Too bad that in the process he replaced them with tears of his own.

“We are a mess.” Bokuto said, the side of his lips turned in a ghost of a smile.

“I told you.” Akaashi nodded, seeming pleased with himself.

Bokuto rolled his eyes and pulled him in a tight embrace, pressing a kiss on the top of his head. They stayed like that for an indefinite span of time, until their hearts seemed to find their normal beat again. Akaashi inhaled deeply, filling with Bokuto’s scent not only his lungs, but his mind and heart too. It seemed like the world ceased to exist outside their little bubble and, in truth, Akaashi wished he never had to step out of it. Not now that he was finally where he really wanted to be.

“Hoot hoot.” Akaashi murmured against his chest, hugging him closer.    

He felt Bokuto smile against his hair.

“I love you too.”

 

=

 

The roaring crowd was a deafening sound in Akaashi’s ears. Their opponents were already warming up, but, as they stepped on the court, all their eyes automatically snapped in their direction. Akaashi waved a hand and smiled lightly to Kenma, but the Nekoma’s setter just startled and turned away. Some things really never change.

It was the first time they were playing against the Cats’ new team, the first time that on the other side of the net he wouldn’t find Kuroo, their former captain and Bokuto’s best friend. The three of them shared some really amazing memories together, like the pranks on the summer training camp, the late night practices, or the endless video games sleepovers. Overall, their teams used to have a very special relationship, mostly due to the iron alliance of their former captains; they trained, travelled and partied together, infinite numbers of times. They’d always respected each other so much and finally playing with them was an experience Akaashi truly was looking forward too. He was feeling ready, even a little excited.

Everything was starting to fall into place, with the team and within himself too, but when, during the warm up, one of the spikes failed and the ball he tossed fell untouched and bounced away, Akaashi knew something was off. They practiced a lot and tuned their timing almost to perfection, that couldn’t have been just a normal mistake. He turned to grab another ball but, when he was about to toss, he saw that the spiker wasn’t looking at him. Instead, he seemed hypnotized by something behind him, a little bit above his shoulder.

As Akaashi turned his head to see what caught the other boy’s attention, his eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and disbelief. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words died in his knotted throat, leaving him there, frozen on the court, lips parted and hands trembling over the bright ball he was clenching. He felt his chest erupt in a warm wave of familiar mixed emotions.

Among the crowd, Bokuto was standing in the front row, one hand fisting the railing and the other stretched in the air, giving him a thumbs up. He was wearing his celebrative Fukurodani jersey, the series Bokuto himself drew after the Nationals victory: all black with gold numbers and white details, basically a reversed version of the official one. In his, the underlined 4 was marking his status as a captain. Former captain, for all of them, but not for him.

Bokuto was looking bold and fearless, exactly like the day Akaashi first met him. His well-known honey eyes were pinned on Akaashi’s, shining with a pride so transparent and sincere it almost cut a hole in him. His eyes were carrying all the trust, the unconditional faith, and the respect his words always tried to instill in him. Who knew that just allowing himself to get lost in that golden pond would have been enough for Akaashi to finally believe him.

Bokuto winked and Akaashi’s heart beat louder in response.

Akaashi felt his younger teammate stepping right beside him, but he didn’t bother to acknowledge his presence. Bokuto was radiating such a beautiful confidence it was impossible to look away from.

“Wait, is he...that’s why…” The other guy trailed off, turning his head from Bokuto to Akaashi to Bokuto again.

“Yes.” Akaashi said, unconsciously turning the corner of his already wide smile in a hint of a smirk. “He is Bokuto. And everything, _everything_ , is because of him.”

 

  

 _The choices we make change the path that we take / But I know / That somewhere out there there's a path that we chose / There's a life that we share, there's a love and it grows / It goes and it's **golden -** _ Golden, Zayn Malik

 

 

p.s. if you want to know everything about Bokuto and Oikawa's life in college togheter, then read the prequel to this fic: [Lover Of The Light](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8675347/chapters/19888528)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Sarah for being the best beta an author could wish for.  
> Thank you to Ann, for being there from the day this fic was just a little headcanon of mine. (Well, you've been around long before that, but this is another story...)
> 
> Thank you for reading this! As always, kudos and comments are more than welcomed! I'd love to hear from you :)
> 
> And if you want to talk to me, come find me on tumblr [@blackandorange](http://blackandorange.tumblr.com/)


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